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Welcome!
You undoubtedly have been struggling with a call
to ministry! Many women and men of the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ) have been in exactly the same place as you
find yourself now. Some of you will have a definite
understanding of “call” while others will still be engaged in
prayerful discernment of the “feelings” you have been
experiencing. Whatever the case may be for you, you are about to
begin an exciting and rewarding journey.
The following instructions are designed to help
you through the application process for Licensed Ministry in the
Ozark Lakes Area of the Mid-America Region of the Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ). (What a mouthful!) Please take
care to read these instructions carefully as you work through
the various documents required. Although there is no required
order in which you tackle this task, we would suggest you follow
the outline below.
Read
- We suggest that you start off by reading “The Design,”
“Policies and Criterion,” and “Ministerial Ethics.” These
documents will be a little overwhelming at first but they
will also be a part of your representative ministry as long
as you hold standing with the Denomination. You will find
these documents on this web site, but we would encourage you
to explore the denomination’s web site at
www.disciples.org.
Document Preparation
The first form is the Ozark Lakes Licensed
Ministry Application. This document may be filled out
utilizing Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or later. If you computer
does not have this program already installed, it is
available for free at
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.
If you do not have a computer or are otherwise unable to use
Acrobat Reader you’ll have to use the old fashioned way and
type them out.
To use Reader, click on the link or open OLA
Application.pdf from your disk. Click on the “hand tool”
icon and click the cursor over the black for your name or
simply “tab” until the I beam is in the field. As you fill
out the form you merely need to “tab” to move to the next
field or “shift-tab” to go back a field. Be sure to “save”
and “print” your work. This will be the first document in
your application packet.
The next set of forms is generated using the
Ministerial Profile software from the Office of Search and
Call. If on the Internet click on the link for Minister’s
Profile and download the appropriate software for your
computer. You will also want to download the Profile
Instructions while you are there. Follow the instructions
on the web site and install your software.
Once installed you will need to start the
program and click on the door in the lower right hand
corner. This will take you to page one of the forms. Follow
the Profile Instructions and the instructions within the
program. Be sure to “save” your work.
When you have completed your work, you will
need to “print” a number of documents. Select the “print”
icon on the left hand side of the program. A selection box
will appear. You need to select “My Profile,” “Reference
Forms” and choose “All References,” and “Disclosure Form.”
As these documents print or you preview
them, you will notice that they ask you send your documents
and the reference documents to the Office of Search and
Call. YOU MUST INFORM YOUR REFERENCES TO SEND YOUR FORMS
TO THE AREA OFFICE rather than to the Office of Search
and Call. You may want to place a label over the address
with the correct address for the Area or some other method
to ensure they are sent to the Ozark Lakes Area Office.
The Disclosure Form will need to be filled
out by hand after it is printed out. Be sure to read this
through and sign it before submitting it with your packet.
When all of your documents are prepared,
place them in the following order:
-
Ozark Lakes Licensed Ministry Application
-
Disclosure Form
-
Ministerial Profile
-
References (if not already mailed in by Reference)
- Mail all of these documents to:
Department of Ministry
Ozark Lakes Area
500 South Ave
Springfield, MO 65806 |
